The Reichstag Fire, 1933

The alarm was sounded on the evening of February 27, 1933 signaling not only a fire, but the arrival of a crucial moment in German history. The Reichstag Building in Berlin, the seat of the German Parliament, was ablaze. By the time firefighters arrived, the Reichstag was overwhelmed by the flames. In addition to destroying the physical embodiment of democracy in Germany, the conflagration provided the first step down a path that led to the solidification of Hitler's dictatorship and to the most devastating war the world has ever known. This pivotal inferno was no accident.

In 1932 the democratic government of Germany, dictated by the Versailles Treaty at the close of World War One, was in political chaos. The Nazi Party was the largest political party within the Reichstag but did not have a majority of seats. After several failed attempts to form a new government in the latter part of that year, German President Hindenburg appointed Adolph Hitler Chancellor on January 30, 1933. Having achieved political power, Hitler and his Nazi cohorts looked for a way to solidify their position. The destruction of the Reichstag Building was their answer.

Evidence discovered after World War Two indicates that the fire that engulfed the Reichstag twenty-eight days after Hitler's ascendency to Chancellor was planned and executed by his henchmen, Herman Goering and Joseph Goebbels, Hitler publicly blamed the Communists, an accusation that allowed him to arrest the Communist members of the Reichstag and thereby eliminate his major political opposition. A young, mentally deranged Communist Dutchman by the name of Marinus van der Lubbe was arrested, tried and convicted of setting the fire.

In late March 1933, Hitler presented legislation to the Reichstag that would transfer its powers to himself. The members easily voted themselves out of existence and proclaimed Hitler the sole leader of Germany. His total control of the country was democratically reconfirmed the following year when, in a plebiscite, 90% of the voters approved of Hitler's dictatorial leadership. He was acclaimed as der Fueher. He had learned a bitter lesson years earlier when he sought to achieve power through violence and failed (see Adolph Hitler Attempts a Coup, 1923). Now, he attained his goal through the skillful use of the tools of democracy. A fire during the night of February 27, 1933 paved the way. [read more]

I am not sure that Hitler had one of his henchmen start the fire. Herman Goering joked he started the fire. Maybe that is why the Eye Witness to History.com website talked about “evidence discovered.” Either way Hitler and the National Socialist Party exploited the fire so Hitler could gain power. They didn’t let a good crises go to waste.

It was the Enabling Act that was passed that gave Hitler dictatorial powers. As Britannica.com stated the Act “’enabled’ Hitler’s government to issue decrees independently of the Reichstag and the presidency.” Sort of like executive orders.

Was Hitler taking over an example of Van Jones top down-bottom up-inside out-strategy? Well, not completely. There probably wasn’t really any top-down part. The bottom-up part was the arsonist himself. The inside-out part was the economic chaos that happened before the fire then the fire itself which didn’t help matters. Hitler was smart enough to exploit the chaos like any good radical.